A Wonderful Aroma

The aroma of transported coffee causes this pilot to reflect on how to share God’s love.

A few weeks back I was flying boxes filled with packaged coffee. Each package was fitted with a one-way valve to ensure freshness. As roasted coffee beans age, they give off vapors, and the valves ensure the bags can vent these vapors. As I climbed in altitude, the wonderful aroma of freshly ground coffee began to fill the cabin. The valves were working!

Photo credit Melody Colbran

That same week, I flew two separate medevac flights. One was for a young woman who had been injured by her angry husband in a remote village. She would most likely have died of blood loss or infection if we had not been able to transport her to a hospital.

The second flight was for a man with heart issues who required urgent medical care only available in the capital city over two hundred miles away. Our clinic staff had determined his heart was working at only 30 percent capacity. Both of these flights were initiated and financed by caring Christians—both from within and outside of Papua New Guinea. As urgent medical crises overwhelmed these two individuals, believers responded with care and generosity, a practical outpouring of God’s love.

I’m grateful that we have “spiritual valves” similar to those valves on the coffee packages. When we choose to be filled with the truth of God’s Word and his Holy Spirit, we are enabled to “vent” the sweet smelling aroma of God’s love to a world in need. This is the reason we are here—that all 800 language groups in Papua New Guinea would have this same privilege.

Steve Geis

Steve Geis

Steve and his wife, Tracy, began serving in the Philippines in 1993. They later transitioned to Papua New Guinea, where they continue to fly and teach in support of Bible translation.